In the video above, Shervin Pishevar, managing partner at Menlo Ventures and former chairman of Social Gaming Network, shares very personal stories from his childhood as an Iranian immigrant and life lessons he’s learned through his experiences. It’s a story of his evolution of gaining the confidence to believe in his own ideas and engage and work with incredibly talented people around the world.

Among the countless nuggets of truth Shervin shared, here are some that impacted me most:

“Life is short and it’s so beautiful that we’re all here together alive living on this incredible planet. We’re here only for a short amount of time, let’s not waste it. Let’s value our relationships and connections together.”

“Friendship is way more beautiful and important a thing than something as cheap and lifeless as money. When you fully embrace that, you’re suddenly surprised as to what you can accomplish as a team.”

“Make sure to prune your life of any value extractors, surround yourself with value creators so you can continue to be open with your heart and soul in an environment based on grace, merit and generosity.”

“Life should be about the collection of experiences, rather than materials.”

In his talk, Shervin also shared five areas of focus which we should evaluate as individuals and entrepreneurs in today’s world:

Shervin’s personal story, insights and presence at the event was something very special and made this year’s event amazingly beautiful.

Shervin also challenged the audience to join together in committing to donate one percent of a company’s value to charity before the company is launched through the “1% of Nothing” effort. Please follow the organization on Twitter, @1PercentOf, and check the website at 1percentof.org periodically for future updates. We’ll also make sure to cover the organization’s announcement when it’s officially launched.

Finally, please send your thanks to Shervin on Twitter, @shervin, and tell him how much you appreciated him coming in for the event and sharing his life’s lessons with us.

Big Omaha is Silicon Prairie News’ premier annual event held each May to inspire, educate and connect entrepreneurs, especially those with an interest in the tech industry. Visit BigOmaha.com to learn more.

Next up: Thinc Iowa. If you enjoyed Big Omaha, then you’ll want to be the first to know about Thinc Iowa, an event aimed at exploring the common ground between startups and corporations. Sign up to be the first to learn more at thinciowa.com.